Howard Johnson vs. Camelot Inn

[beckymomof2]

Which hotel would you go for? I booked at Howard Johnson for 8 nights in January. I figured with everything I read about it we couldn't go wrong at that hotel.

Now my dad is trying to convince me I should book at the Camelot Inn.

Any opinions?

 

[beckymomof2]

I forgot to mention... his reasoning is that it is cheaper.

 

[Phoenixrising]

I think that HOJO's would be a better fit for you, since they are a better hotel, however I can no longer in good conciense recommend them to anyone anymore after I had severe problems with a reservation earlier this year, that I had to cancel. They contacted me as to why I cancelled the reservation, and didn't have the decency to at least apologize or investigate what happened, after I had politely sent them an email detailing what went wrong with the reservation and why I cancelled it (which is something I've never done before, and doubt will again). I'm staying at the BWPPI (Best Western Park Place Inn) for my Nov trip, and if this hotel turns out as good as I think, in future we will be staying there instead of HOJO's. It's also a good basic hotel, but it's right across the street from the parks, which can't be beat. This is just my opinion, and it's based on a bad experience with HOJO's reservation system. Don't get me wrong alot of people have stayed there and have had great experiences. It's just no longer a hotel I would stay at after the severe problems I had earlier this year with the reservation I had with them.

 

[mgmgbook]

We've stayed at both locations and prefer Hojo but here are the upsides to both.

Camelot is closer. The pool is great for kids because it's only 3 or 4 feet deep everywhere so it's easy to play in. They have a continental breakfast.

HoJo is very quiet (at least in Bldg 2). It's easier to walk to and from the park because you can walk on the opposite sidewalk which tends to have fewer people and strollers. The rooms were nicer - like they were recently renovated.

Hope that helps.

 

[beckymomof2]

I think that HOJO's would be a better fit for you, since they are a better hotel, however I can no longer in good conciense recommend them to anyone anymore after I had severe problems with a reservation earlier this year, that I had to cancel. They contacted me as to why I cancelled the reservation, and didn't have the decency to at least apologize or investigate what happened, after I had politely sent them an email detailing what went wrong with the reservation and why I cancelled it (which is something I've never done before, and doubt will again). I'm staying at the BWPPI (Best Western Park Place Inn) for my Nov trip, and if this hotel turns out as good as I think, in future we will be staying there instead of HOJO's. It's also a good basic hotel, but it's right across the street from the parks, which can't be beat. This is just my opinion, and it's based on a bad experience with HOJO's reservation system. Don't get me wrong alot of people have stayed there and have had great experiences. It's just no longer a hotel I would stay at after the severe problems I had earlier this year with the reservation I had with them.

Mind if I ask what the reservation problem was?

 

[smiles33]

How many people are in your party, BeckyMomof2? If it's a small group (say just 2 adults), then maybe it's worth staying as close as possible to the parks. Just based on threads here, the regular rooms seem fine but aren't "mind-blowing" given the higher cost and slightly farther location. Plus, if you don't have kids with you, the cool water play area is irrelevant.

Now, if you get a Kids' Suite, I think it seems to be nearly unanimous that those are amazing. You get two full bathrooms, cute theming/decor, 2 flat screens, Keurig, microwave, mini-fridge, bunk bed and sofa bed for the kids, huge comfy King bed for the parents, and for a decent price (not the "steal" it was a few years ago with the $99 Entertainment Card rate but still a fraction of the $800+/night for on-site suites).

We are staying there again next week and I hope to get the Kids Suite until my kids are old enough to skip their naps. It's farther than other places, but he 8 minute walk (while pushing 70+ pounds of kids in a double stroller) wasn't bad at all on our 2011 trip.

 

[beckymomof2]

How many people are in your party, BeckyMomof2? If it's a small group (say just 2 adults), then maybe it's worth staying as close as possible to the parks. Just based on threads here, the regular rooms seem fine but aren't "mind-blowing" given the higher cost and slightly farther location. Plus, if you don't have kids with you, the cool water play area is irrelevant.

Now, if you get a Kids' Suite, I think it seems to be nearly unanimous that those are amazing. You get two full bathrooms, cute theming/decor, 2 flat screens, Keurig, microwave, mini-fridge, bunk bed and sofa bed for the kids, huge comfy King bed for the parents, and for a decent price (not the "steal" it was a few years ago with the $99 Entertainment Card rate but still a fraction of the $800+/night for on-site suites).

We are staying there again next week and I hope to get the Kids Suite until my kids are old enough to skip their naps. It's farther than other places, but he 8 minute walk (while pushing 70+ pounds of kids in a double stroller) wasn't bad at all on our 2011 trip.

It will be my husband and myself plus our two girls who will be 6 and 8 at the time. My parents are coming too but staying in a "cheap" hotel somewhere nearby.

 

[Phoenixrising]

First off my position is not to flame this hotel but state what went wrong with the reservation. Four days after booking the reservation online my CC was hacked and someone was charging on my CC all over town. To this day I still don't know if my ressie with HOJO's was the source of the problems with my CC. Secondly I had a severe problem with my Wyndham rewards card. After I had asked for a replacement, they allowed me to use the card, then deactivated the card, and failed to send me a new one. They also wiped my point's and refused to notify of the card deactivation before I had booked my hotel. Therefore putting my reservation with HOJO's at risk. Furthermore when I discovered this they Wyndham rewards was completely unapologetic over what happened, and made it clear that they had no intentions of mailing me a new card they had promised me before I had booked my reservation at HOJO's. And for the last insult to injury so to speak was the fact that after I had cancelled my reservation HOJO's contacted me asking why I had cancelled the reservation. I sent them a email politely detailing the problems I had with the reservation and they never contacted me to respond to this email, even though after my cyber attack 3 weeks ago I emailed them with my new email address. This is one really bad experience I had with their reservations system. I have stayed with them before with really good success. This is why I can say they are a great hotel, but that's it. I have since rebooked my hotel with BWPPI, and if I have a great stay there on my trip in Nov, this will become our hotel of choice when visiting DL. Once again just because I had a bad experience with their reservations system doesn't mean that other's will too. However after this fiasco I won't stay there again, as I don't trust the safety of their online reservation system.

 

[awdsmama]

Do your kids like the water/swimming? If so I say HOJO! The kids themed water park/play area is so fun for kids! My DS loved it last year (he was 7). There is also a hot tub right there so you can relax too ;-) They also have a regular pool elsewhere on property.

I also like the keurig makers in the rooms \_/ ahhhhh perfect for the walk to the park in the morning.

The other plus IMO (not sure how the other hotel rooms layouts are) is that in the room we had - 2Queen beds, there was a sink right outside of the bathroom as well as inside. Made getting ready in the morning much easier.

 

[beckymomof2]

First off my position is not to flame this hotel but state what went wrong with the reservation. Four days after booking the reservation online my CC was hacked and someone was charging on my CC all over town. To this day I still don't know if my ressie with HOJO's was the source of the problems with my CC. Secondly I had a severe problem with my Wyndham rewards card. After I had asked for a replacement, they allowed me to use the card, then deactivated the card, and failed to send me a new one. They also wiped my point's and refused to notify of the card deactivation before I had booked my hotel. Therefore putting my reservation with HOJO's at risk. Furthermore when I discovered this they Wyndham rewards was completely unapologetic over what happened, and made it clear that they had no intentions of mailing me a new card they had promised me before I had booked my reservation at HOJO's. And for the last insult to injury so to speak was the fact that after I had cancelled my reservation HOJO's contacted me asking why I had cancelled the reservation. I sent them a email politely detailing the problems I had with the reservation and they never contacted me to respond to this email, even though after my cyber attack 3 weeks ago I emailed them with my new email address. This is one really bad experience I had with their reservations system. I have stayed with them before with really good success. This is why I can say they are a great hotel, but that's it. I have since rebooked my hotel with BWPPI, and if I have a great stay there on my trip in Nov, this will become our hotel of choice when visiting DL. Once again just because I had a bad experience with their reservations system doesn't mean that other's will too. However after this fiasco I won't stay there again, as I don't trust the safety of their online reservation system.

I appreciate your honesty.

 

[beckymomof2]

Do your kids like the water/swimming? If so I say HOJO! The kids themed water park/play area is so fun for kids! My DS loved it last year (he was 7). There is also a hot tub right there so you can relax too ;-) They also have a regular pool elsewhere on property.

I also like the keurig makers in the rooms \_/ ahhhhh perfect for the walk to the park in the morning.

The other plus IMO (not sure how the other hotel rooms layouts are) is that in the room we had - 2Queen beds, there was a sink right outside of the bathroom as well as inside. Made getting ready in the morning much easier.

So here is the thing, and then another question... my kids do love swimming. Now for the question. Since we will be there in the beginning of summer, do they have the pools open? Does anyone use them at that time of year? We are from Alaska, so the water would be fine for us, but I can understand if it isn't normal to swim in that temperature for Californians.

 

[sherilaine]

So here is the thing, and then another question... my kids do love swimming. Now for the question. Since we will be there in the beginning of summer, do they have the pools open? Does anyone use them at that time of year? We are from Alaska, so the water would be fine for us, but I can understand if it isn't normal to swim in that temperature for Californians.

The pools are open year round. Yes, we are from Calgary, so it's weird to try to think that way but they are. So yes, you will have opportunity to swim if the weather is warm. We swam almost every day last year in early March, but it was very warm weather for that time of year.

My kids were 8 and 9 when we stayed there last year, they spend most of their time in the main pool but thought the other pool area was fun, but I imagine this year they will have grown out of it even more. It was fun for a bit but then they wanted to go and "really swim". Ages 8 and 6, you might get more use out of it at least for this year, it is a cute little pool area and the kids seem to all like the big bucket that spashes on them.

We stayed in the Kids Suites and are booked to return next month, we love them too, two bathrooms, lots of space and especially our own room with our own bed and the kids with bunk beds as they will NOT share a bed!!

I have never stayed at any of the other places - if you do not get enough information here, Tripadvisor is a great source to check into.

 

[beckymomof2]

The pools are open year round. Yes, we are from Calgary, so it's weird to try to think that way but they are. So yes, you will have opportunity to swim if the weather is warm. We swam almost every day last year in early March, but it was very warm weather for that time of year.

My kids were 8 and 9 when we stayed there last year, they spend most of their time in the main pool but thought the other pool area was fun, but I imagine this year they will have grown out of it even more. It was fun for a bit but then they wanted to go and "really swim". Ages 8 and 6, you might get more use out of it at least for this year, it is a cute little pool area and the kids seem to all like the big bucket that spashes on them.

We stayed in the Kids Suites and are booked to return next month, we love them too, two bathrooms, lots of space and especially our own room with our own bed and the kids with bunk beds as they will NOT share a bed!!

I have never stayed at any of the other places - if you do not get enough information here, Tripadvisor is a great source to check into.

So far I'm planning to keep my reservation at HoJo but now I'm wondering if I really should have booked the kids suite. I think I'll have to see what my husband thinks. Although I haven't had much input from him because he isn't really helping plan the trip. He thinks he isn't going to like Disney. ha ha

 

[awdsmama]

They have a limited # of kids suites so you may want to call now and change the reservation if you can. IMO it would be easier to go from the kids suite BACK to a regular room closer to arrival if you decide to....than trying to upgrade.

 

[beckymomof2]

They have a limited # of kids suites so you may want to call now and change the reservation if you can. IMO it would be easier to go from the kids suite BACK to a regular room closer to arrival if you decide to....than trying to upgrade.

Do you think they let you go to a lesser room?

I was aware of the limited rooms. I checked a few days ago and didn't see any available. Now there is so my guess is there is just one because someone cancelled. So you are right... I need to get on it if I want to.

 

[sherilaine]

Do you think they let you go to a lesser room?

I was aware of the limited rooms. I checked a few days ago and didn't see any available. Now there is so my guess is there is just one because someone cancelled. So you are right... I need to get on it if I want to.

I agree - there are 14 kids suites and they book up fast because most people who stay in them seem to want to return. Hojo is not a fancy hotel by any means, paper cups says it all, but it is clean and the staff are very friendly. But it truly is the configuration of the Kids Suites and the proximity to the parks that we book for. They are more expensive though than a regular room and the prices seem to be going up by the minute...

 

[ykmom]

So here is the thing, and then another question... my kids do love swimming. Now for the question. Since we will be there in the beginning of summer, do they have the pools open? Does anyone use them at that time of year? We are from Alaska, so the water would be fine for us, but I can understand if it isn't normal to swim in that temperature for Californians.

We are from the Northwest Territories - -30 here today ugh! When we were there if February we had ALL the pools at the Grand to ourselves one afternoon!

 

[awdsmama]

Do you think they let you go to a lesser room?

Absolutely, space permitting.

 

[beckymomof2]

Absolutely, space permitting.

Ok I just called back and changed the reservation to the kids suite.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Czardas]

On our first trip to DL we stayed at Camelot and although everything else was fine, it had to be the most uncomfortable bed I have EVER slept in. When you are paying for a nights sleep, then you expect an establishment to be able to provide this. Camelots matress had some type of matress protector that resembled a plastic sheet, that rustled each time you moved, not to mention a matress that was hard as a board. I left a review on tripadvisor regarding this as I stayde at a few places on my first trip to the US and Camelot was the worst I have encountered.